Should you reimburse your employee for these expenses instead of giving them an allowance, the amount may be taxable if they are subject to fringe benefits tax.

Motor vehicle allowance

If you pay your employee an allowance for using their private vehicle for your business's purposes, all or part of this allowance may be exempt.

The exempt amount depends on the number of kilometres the employee travels for your business in a certain period.

Exempt motor vehicle allowance rates

You must use the correct rate when calculating your exemption for a particular financial year.

Financial year

Rate per km

2014–15

$0.77

2009–10 to 2013–14

$0.75

2008–09

$0.70

Approved calculation methods

There are 2 approved ways to calculate the number of exempt kilometres.

Continuous recording method—add up the distances travelled for each business journey your employee makes. You must record the:

odometer readings for the start and end of each journey

purpose of the journey.

Averaging method—if it is difficult to separate private and business use, you can calculate the vehicle's business use over 12 weeks and determine business kilometres as a percentage of the vehicle's total use. In those 12 weeks, you must record the:

odometer readings for each business journey

purpose of each journey

total distance the vehicle travels

points at which the odometer was replaced or recalibrated.

Example

Night Pty Ltd uses the averaging method to calculate Bob's exempt kilometres for October 2014. Bob's log book from 1 July 2014 to 23 September 2014 shows that he travelled 50,000km. The business portion was 40,000km. In October, Bob travels 20,000km in total and receives an allowance of $18,000.

• Bob's percentage of business use is 40,000km ÷ 50,000km = 80%• Exempt kilometres for October is 20,000km × 80% = 16,000km• Using the exempt rate of $0.77, Night Pty Ltd could receive an exemption on an allowance of $0.77 × 16,000km = $12,320• Therefore, Night Pty Ltd only needs to include as taxable wages $18,000 – $12,320 = $5,680

Applying to use another calculation method

If the continuous recording and averaging methods are not practical for you, you can suggest your own method of calculating the exempt kilometres and ask us to approve it. Approval of your calculation method is at the discretion of the Commissioner of State Revenue.

Accommodation allowance

If you pay your employee an allowance for accommodation expenses when they must spend a night away for business, all or part of this allowance may be exempt.

Exempt accommodation allowance rates

You must use the correct rate when calculating your exemption for a particular financial year.

Financial year

Rate per night

2014–15

$253.25

2013–14

$250.85

2012–13

$248.25

2011–12

$238.10

2010–11

$227.35

2009–10

$223.80

2008–09

$218.30

Example

Night Pty Ltd pays Bob an accommodation allowance of $260 per night while he is away for a business trip for 3 nights in October 2014.